Franz Joseph Dölger (18 October 1879, in

Sulzbach am Main Sulzbach am Main (officially ''Sulzbach a.Main'') is a market municipality in the Miltenberg district in the ''Regierungsbezirk'' of Lower Franconia (''Unterfranken'') in Bavaria, Germany. Geography Location Sulzbach lies on the rivers Main ...

– 17 October 1940, in

Schweinfurt Schweinfurt ( , ; ) is a city in the district of Lower Franconia in Bavaria, Germany. It is the administrative centre of the surrounding district (''Landkreis'') of Schweinfurt and a major industrial, cultural and educational hub. The urban agg ...

) was a German Catholic

theologian Theology is the systematic study of the nature of the divine and, more broadly, of religious belief. It is taught as an academic discipline, typically in universities and seminaries. It occupies itself with the unique content of analyzing the ...

and

church historian Church Historian and Recorder (usually shortened to Church Historian) is a priesthood calling in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. The role of the Church Historian and Recorder is to keep an accurate and comprehensive record of th ...

. He studied theology at the

University of Würzburg The Julius Maximilian University of Würzburg (also referred to as the University of Würzburg, in German ''Julius-Maximilians-Universität Würzburg'') is a public research university in Würzburg, Germany. The University of Würzburg is one of ...

, being ordained into the priesthood in 1902. Afterwards he worked as a

chaplain A chaplain is, traditionally, a cleric (such as a Minister (Christianity), minister, priest, pastor, rabbi, purohit, or imam), or a laity, lay representative of a religious tradition, attached to a secularity, secular institution (such as a hosp ...

Amorbach Amorbach () is a town in the Miltenberg district in the ''Regierungsbezirk'' of Lower Franconia (''Unterfranken'') in Bavaria, Germany, with some 4,000 inhabitants. It is situated on the small river Mud, in the northeastern part of the Odenwald ...

and

Würzburg Würzburg (; Main-Franconian: ) is a city in the region of Franconia in the north of the German state of Bavaria. Würzburg is the administrative seat of the ''Regierungsbezirk'' Lower Franconia. It spans the banks of the Main River. Würzburg is ...

, and in June 1904, obtained his doctorate in theology.Dölger, Franz Joseph
In:

Neue Deutsche Biographie ''Neue Deutsche Biographie'' (''NDB''; literally ''New German Biography'') is a biographical reference work. It is the successor to the ''Allgemeine Deutsche Biographie'' (ADB, Universal German Biography). The 26 volumes published thus far cover ...

(NDB). Band 4, Duncker & Humblot, Berlin 1959, , S. 19 f. In the winter and spring of 1904–05, he participated in a study group to

Rome , established_title = Founded , established_date = 753 BC , founder = King Romulus (legendary) , image_map = Map of comune of Rome (metropolitan city of Capital Rome, region Lazio, Italy).svg , map_caption ...

Sicily (man) it, Siciliana (woman) , population_note = , population_blank1_title = , population_blank1 = , demographics_type1 = Ethnicity , demographics1_footnotes = , demographi ...

and

North Africa North Africa, or Northern Africa is a region encompassing the northern portion of the African continent. There is no singularly accepted scope for the region, and it is sometimes defined as stretching from the Atlantic shores of Mauritania in ...

. Later on, he furthered his education at the

Campo Santo Teutonico The Teutonic Cemetery ( it, Cimitero Teutonico, "Camposanto of the Teutons and the Flemish") is a burial site adjacent to St. Peter's Basilica in Vatican City. Burial is reserved for members of the Confraternity of Our Lady of the German Cemetery ...

in Rome (1908–11), followed by an appointment as associate professor of

religious history The history of religion refers to the written record of human religious feelings, thoughts, and ideas. This period of religious history begins with the invention of writing about 5,200 years ago (3200 BC). The prehistory of religion involves th ...

Westphalian Wilhelms-University Westphalian may refer to: * The culture or people of the Westphalia region of Germany * Westphalian language, one of the major dialect groups of West Low German * Westphalian sovereignty, a concept in international relations * Westphalian (stage), ...

Münster Münster (; nds, Mönster) is an independent city (''Kreisfreie Stadt'') in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. It is in the northern part of the state and is considered to be the cultural centre of the Westphalia region. It is also a state distr ...

(1911). Later in his career, he served as a professor at the universities of Breslau (1926–29; as successor to Joseph Wittig) and

Bonn The federal city of Bonn ( lat, Bonna) is a city on the banks of the Rhine in the German state of North Rhine-Westphalia, with a population of over 300,000. About south-southeast of Cologne, Bonn is in the southernmost part of the Rhine-Ruhr r ...

(1929–40).Menschen aus Bayern
short biography Dölger's primary focus involved investigations of the

early Christian church Early Christianity (up to the First Council of Nicaea in 325) spread from the Levant, across the Roman Empire, and beyond. Originally, this progression was closely connected to already established Jewish centers in the Holy Land and the Jewish d ...

and its relationship with non-Christian societies. He also published scholarly works on the sacrament of

confirmation In Christian denominations that practice infant baptism, confirmation is seen as the sealing of the covenant created in baptism. Those being confirmed are known as confirmands. For adults, it is an affirmation of belief. It involves laying on ...

, on

exorcism Exorcism () is the religious or spiritual practice of evicting demons, jinns, or other malevolent spiritual entities from a person, or an area, that is believed to be possessed. Depending on the spiritual beliefs of the exorcist, this may be ...

, on

baptism Baptism (from grc-x-koine, βάπτισμα, váptisma) is a form of ritual purification—a characteristic of many religions throughout time and geography. In Christianity, it is a Christian sacrament of initiation and adoption, almost inv ...

, and on the

Eucharist The Eucharist (; from Greek , , ), also known as Holy Communion and the Lord's Supper, is a Christian rite that is considered a sacrament in most churches, and as an ordinance in others. According to the New Testament, the rite was instit ...

in ancient

Christianity Christianity is an Abrahamic monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus of Nazareth. It is the world's largest and most widespread religion with roughly 2.38 billion followers representing one-third of the global pop ...

. In 1929 he founded the journal ''Antike und Christentum'' ("Antiquity and Christianity"), of which he contributed a series of detailed studies of the early church. Today, the Franz Joseph Dölger-Institut zur Erforschung der Spätantike (Franz Joseph Dölger Institute for Exploration of the Late Antiquity; founded 1955) at the

University of Bonn The Rhenish Friedrich Wilhelm University of Bonn (german: Rheinische Friedrich-Wilhelms-Universität Bonn) is a public research university located in Bonn, North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. It was founded in its present form as the ( en, Rhine U ...

is named in his honor.

Selected publications

* ''Das Sakrament der Firmung'' (The sacrament of

), 1906. * ''Der Exorzismus im altchristlichen Taufritual'' (

Exorcism Exorcism () is the religious or spiritual practice of evicting demons, jinns, or other malevolent spiritual entities from a person, or an area, that is believed to be possessed. Depending on the spiritual beliefs of the exorcist, this may be ...

in ancient Christian baptism rites), 1909. * ''Ichthys; Das Fischsymbol in frühchristlicher'' (Ichthys: The fish symbol in

early Christianity Early Christianity (up to the First Council of Nicaea in 325) spread from the Levant, across the Roman Empire, and beyond. Originally, this progression was closely connected to already established Jewish centers in the Holy Land and the Jewish ...

), 1910. * ''Konstantin der Große und seine Zeit'' (

Constantine the Great Constantine I ( , ; la, Flavius Valerius Constantinus, ; ; 27 February 22 May 337), also known as Constantine the Great, was Roman emperor from AD 306 to 337, the first one to Constantine the Great and Christianity, convert to Christiani ...

and his era), 1913 * ''Sol Salutis. Gebet und Gesang im christlichen Altertum'' (Sol Salutis: prayer and song in Christian antiquity), 1920. * ''Die Fischdenkmäler in der frühchristlichen Plastik, Malerei und Kleinkunst'' (Fish memorials in early Christian sculpture, painting and minor arts), 1932.OCLC WorldCat
(published works)

References

*
English translation
{{DEFAULTSORT:Dolger, Franz Joseph 20th-century German Catholic theologians University of Bonn faculty People from Miltenberg (district) University of Breslau faculty University of Münster faculty 1940 deaths 1879 births German male non-fiction writers